Process and apparatus for burning solid fuel



1943- R. ESNAULT-PEL'fERlE Q 2,452,844

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR BURNING SOLID FUEL Filed June 1'7, 1944 Mr M-Qha r ATTo/P/v ys Fatentecl Nov. 2, 1948 vPROCESS :ANDAPBARATUS FOR BURNING [SOLID'FUEL iRobert Esnault-Belterie, Geneva, Switzerland, as-

signer to Spladis PSocit pour lApplica'tion dlnventions cScientifi ;Luxemburg ques, :a morporation :'of

Application Junll, 1944,7'Seria'ljNo. 540,862

In "Switzerland July '15, 1943 4- Glaims.

Theipresentiinvention relates to /a :process for efiectuating :the combustion of combustible in pieces, :in which the combustible is presente'din a combustion zone, :in' the form of at least one crumbling-slope According to this invention at 'least one ,jet of 'air is :fed ito sweep the 'surfaceiof thezslope-in the samedirection as that of itsfall, said jet ioi-air'licking the :said surface ofithe combustiblewithout penetrating deeply into themass of :th'elatter, and auxiliary air is simultaneously brought underneath-the :combustion .zone in such a way that said auxiliary *air passes through part of the combustible "mass in the reverse direction 1 to that of its fall, for afterwards emerging from the surface of the slope.

The inventionialso :relates to-a combustion ap-' paratuslfor combustible in pieces,forthe-working out or the above mentioned .process. This apparatus comprises a recipient for the combustible, inside of whiclrmeansare disposed'for compelling the combustible to fall down :in the form of at least one cr=llmbllng-slope and a device for the intake of air and. for the'exit-of the combustion gases. According to the inventiomthe said air-is directed :in the form of at least one jet sweeping this crumbling-slope in the direction of its fall and reaching the exit without penetrating deeply into the mass in ignition, and :further, this apparatus comprisesan auxiliary air-intake supplying at its lower part a limited amount of air arriving underneath the combustion zone-and passing through the combustible in that zone, afterwards emerging fromthe surface of the slopeian-d reaching the exit.

The annexed drawing represents, by way of example, a-v'iew in elevation, partly sectional, of an embodiment of the apparatus to w'thich the invention relates, illustrating at .the same time, asan example, a way of working out theLprocess.

The apparatus as shown comprises ama'ir'tight casing 3 l, inside of which is a double-walled conical bell 32. The combustible in pieces 33 rests on an inclined annular fireproof partition 34. The combustion air arrives through a pipe 35, provided with a flap-valve 35 controlling both the entrance of a main pipe 31 and that of an auxiliary pipe 38. When the flap-valve closes one of these pipes, the other is open at its maximum, and vice versa.

The bell32 comprises an outer conical wall 39 presenting at its lower edge a ring 40 working as a support for the conical body 4| forming the inner wall of the bell 32. The body 4 I, which may be of cast-iron or of fire-proof material for example, extends at its upper part into a cylindrical pipe 42 whose opening 42ers ccnn'ectedto a pipe 43 for the exit of the combustion gases fromthe apparatus.

The bellBZ determines in't h'e combustible mass 3 3 a space-45 which remains free (if combustible andis li'mit-ed by the'cruniblingslope itn t he region of its base, ith'e conical body a: is provitled with a "series of oblique cuter fins SGNF- ing, on the one hand,"to keep thebodyceritered relating to 'Wal1 39 and, on the other hand, to start a whirling vmovement or the combusti'on air issuing :trom the annular .space 45 enclosed between walls :39 and M and intended tcllick the surfacesoi'thefcrumbling slopeififl.

ac'onical body ".4! :is provided sat its :lower part pockets 14'! projecting inwardly and opened then-Flower part. Space-zfi :ccnnnuni sates at its @upper part with :the main pipe 431?, The air :delivered Joy pipe '3 thus escapes into space -46 through the Blower opening of pockets 451,. Each pocket is situated between two-oblique ribs 415 anddtself possesses-a corresponding-slant fin which cooperates with the whirling monement of the combustion air in space lfi.

The apparatus as shown further includes axial tube -48 'the upper of which 1310363155 above the apparatus and thedowerpartoi which projects into the space -45. The :upper -'end of tube 48 is fitted with it igiass cli-sl: 4% through which ,pyrometric sights can be taken to :determine the temperature oi the combustible at the bottom of thee-pace 45. .Airibrought-inte tnbeAt byaplpetifi branched on to impedes-hove the flap-valve 36 but zthe quantity Eof said airris very small and its influence -on the combustion in space 45 negligible; it is just devised ifor evacuating if-r'om tube 4B the smoke that might otherwise hinder the :pyrornetric sights,

illheappar'atuswerles ell-owe:

. Forhiudling, therfla-p-d/flhiisfifi in such a position that it closes the main pipe 31; kindling material (paper, wood) is placed in the combustion zone at 5|, as diagrammatically indicated by mixed lines, then combustible is poured down through an opening not shown in the drawing and situated in the upper part of the apparatus. The combustible (peat (turf), lignite or coal with a low calorific power, for example) forms pocket 46 in coming to rest on the kindling prepared at 5|. This kindling is lighted through the door of the ashbox (not shown in the drawlng), which is then shut. Air flows in through pipe 38 opening at 52 into the ashboX. When it is seen through the sighting-tube 48 that the mass is well ignited, the flap-valve 36 is lowered sufficiently for the greater part of the air to pass through the main pipe 31 and through annular space 45 and to lick the surface of crumblingslope 54 without penetrating deeply into the com bustible mass. The regulation of the flap-valve Varies according to the nature of the combustible. With peat, for example, the auxiliary pipe 38 should be almost completely closed. With coal of low calorific power, it is preferable to leave the flap-valve sufiiciently raised for a perceptible airdelivery to pass through the auxiliary pipe 38, with the effect of keeping a certain volume in ignition in the region indicated at 53. The quantity of auxiliary air introduced by the auxiliary pipe 38 also varies according to the grain of the combustible, but is, however, always less than the quantity introduced through the main pipe 31.

The combustion air passing through pipe 35 may be brought into the apparatus either by suction or by compression.

What I claim is:

1. A process for eff-ectuating the combustion of combustible in pieces, in which the combustible is presented in a combustion zone in the form of a substantially circular crater having a crumbling-slope, comprising supplying air for combustion, feeding a major portion of such air downwardly and tangentially so as to sweep the surface of said slope in the same direction as that of its fall, said major portion of air licking the said surface of the combustible without penetrating deeply into the mass of the latter, and simultaneously feeding a minor portion of said air into the combustible from underneath the combustion zone and passing said minor portion of air upwardly through part of the combustible mass in the reverse direction to that of its fall to afterwards emerge from the surface of the slope.

- 2. A process according to claim 1, in which the quantity of the minor portion of the air which passes through the combustible is equal at the most to a third of the total quantity of air introduced for combustion.

3. A process for efiectuating the combustion of combustible in pieces, in which the combustible is presented in a combustion zone in the form of a substantially circular crater having a crumbling-slope, comprising supplying air for combustion, feeding a major portion of the air supplied for combustion downwardly and tangentially so as to sweep the surface of the sloping combustible in the same direction as that of its fall, said so fed major portion of air being uni formly distributed and licking the said surface of the combustible without penetrating deeply into the mass of the latter, and simultaneously introducing a minor portion of the supplied air into the combustible from beneath the combustion zone and passing said minor portion of the air first laterally and then upwardly through part of the combustible mass in the reverse direction to that of its fall to thereafter emerge from the surface of the slope.

, 4.11 combustion apparatus for effecting the combustion of combustible in pieces, comprising a receptacle for the combustible,a grate within said receptacle, bell-shaped, conical means positioned within said receptacle in space relationship to its walls and above and with the bell means inverted witht its bell opening facin said grate and thebell opening lyin and spaced from 'said grate so that the combustible on flowing downwardly within the receptacle over said bell shaped conical means will distribute itself below the bell opening in the form of a substantially circular crater with a crumbling-slope, means for admitting air into the interior of said receptacle and for conducting said air to thevicinity of said crater, means for directing the how of incoming air so as to cause it to impinge tangentially against the walls of the crater and flow along the crumbling-slope in a downward direction without penetrating deeply into the combustible mass, auxiliary means for supplying air to a space in said receptacle beneath said grate, said air admitting means and auxiliary air supplying means being interconnected, and a damper for controlling flow of air through each so that the major portion of the air is supplied at the interior slope of said crater and the minor portion of said air is supplied beneath the grate, and means for leading oil" products of combustion from said receptacle.

ROBERT ESNAULT-PELTERIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 176 Atwood Sept. 17, 1850 Re. 1,506 Henderson June 30, 1863 Re. 11,623 McLean June 27, 1897 301,324 Backus July 1, 1884 539,021 Bartlett May 14, 1895 994,830 Fortune June 13, 1911 1,275,986 Lee Aug. 13, 1918 1,642,019 Foltz Sept. 13, 1927 1,780,942 Price Nov. 11, 1930 1,833,440 Skelding Nov. 24, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 394 Sardinia June 30, 1857 12,310 Austria June 25, 1903 36,341 Holland Aug. 17, 1934 47,292 France Jan. 18, 1935 52,222 Denmark Sept. 16, 1936 695,649 Germany Jan. 28, 1938 

